Wild Lord Taggart

by Tammy Jo Burns

  “You should be below,” a now familiar voice said, causing tingles of a different kind to run up her spine.

  “I know.”

  “What drove you out here?”

  “Claustrophobia, restlessness, excitement…” The words trailed off into the night. She rubbed her arms.

  “Cold?”

  “Not really,” she lied in an effort to keep him away.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  “How do you know I’m thinking about anything?” she countered.

  “You have a certain look on your face.”

  “And you think you know me so well?”

  “Miss Hayhurst, I’m not trying to start an argument with you. I’d just like to talk to someone who doesn’t have ‘Aye, matey’ in their vocabulary. Is that too much to ask?”

  Circe giggled. “No, I suppose not.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I have been considering what my mother must think about me. How disappointed she must be in me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She has tried so hard to prove that women can be more than just wives and mothers. To show the world that just because a woman loves a man, it does not mean that she has to be tied to him.”

  “And?”

  “And all I want is the opposite of her. I want to be married. I want children. I want my life to be about supporting my husband and children in what they do, not upending society’s ideals.” They were very quiet for a few minutes. “Mama was very hurt when I told her I wanted to go to Barbados to escape the people who knew of her and Papa.”

  “Being scandalous isn’t easy.”

  “What?”

  “Remember, I come from a family froth with scandal.”

  “But Mama is not—”

  “Scandalous? Of course, she is. Even you believe she is. It just hurts you to hear other people say it.”

  “You are right,” she sighed. “I did say it. I am just so used to defending her to people.”

  “I’m running from my past, too.”

  “I am not running.” Circe straightened and faced him, an indignant look on her face.

  “Did you stay in England to find a man that would love you and marry you and give you the family you want despite your history?” He eyed her closely, making her squirm uncomfortably beneath his gaze. When she turned away from him and back to the ocean view, Reese continued, “No, you’re on this ship, a half a world away from everything, or everyone, you ever knew, in an attempt to make your dreams come true, but at least you know what your dreams are.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I have no idea what I want. I have no idea what awaits me in Barbados. I only know that my brother has become respectable, and my cousin, Bridget, is trying to find a husband to make her mother happy. After decades of being known as the Scandalous Taggarts, my family is turning itself around. I am a detriment to them; therefore, I left.”

  “You could change.”

  “I could, but no one would believe it. Not when everyone knows me and expects a certain type of behavior. My friends don’t help because they encourage my inappropriate behavior.”

  “You have to be stronger than the temptation.”

  “There are some temptations I wouldn’t mind succumbing to,” he said, lowering his voice to a seductive pitch.

  “Lord Taggart,” she attempted to sound shocked, but there was a breathlessness to her voice she could not hide.

  “Remember, it’s Reese, please. You called me by my name once.”

  “I should not have done that.”

  “I would like to think we are friends enough by now. Tomorrow we’ll be landing in Barbados and parting ways. Let me hear you say my name again. Just once more.”

  “Reese,” she said after a moment, complying to his request with a breathy hitch in her voice.

  “Bloody hell, why?”

  Circe watched, confused, as his head fell back and his hands fisted at his sides. It appeared as if his eyes were closed. The breeze ruffled his hair. At that moment he looked tortured, and she ached to reach out to him, to hold him and tell him that all would be well, but he was a grown man. He would not appreciate being coddled by a woman that was neither family nor lover.

  Lover. The word seemed to become caught in her mind’s web. She studied the man next to her once more. He had moved to grip the ship’s rail and he now stared stoically over the empty sea. He looked so alone and at that moment she felt lost. What would it be like to have Lor…Reese as a lover? she thought, letting the word roll around her tongue. Circe refused to let it go that far, but she wanted to feel his lips on hers once more. Wanted to give into temptation before she found the man who would be her husband.

  She ducked and slipped between his body and the rail.

  “What are you doing?” He tried to take a step away from her, but she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him in place.

  “Kiss me, Reese.”

  “Stop, Circe. I promised Captain Adams I would stay away from you.”

  “And you will. I do not want you to take my virginity, here on the ship, in front of all these sailors.”

  “You said you were experienced,” he accused.

  “Only at kissing.” She smiled when she actually heard him groan. She quickly spoke when he started to pull away, “Tomorrow we will be parting ways. I imagine we will see each other occasionally in Barbados, but we will have to pretend we do not know one another.”

  “You’re going to give me the cut direct, are you?”

  “We have had this discussion already. There is no other way. I must,” she said. She could hear the pleading in her voice for him to understand and let the matter go.

  “I know.”

  “But right now, it is just you and me and the moonlight, and I want to feel your mouth on mine just one more time.”

  “I thought you were going to be a shy wallflower for the rest of your life.”

  “Tonight I am my mother’s daughter.” She shifted her arms so they were wrapped about his neck and she stood on her tiptoes in order to align their mouths. She pressed her lips to his and murmured, “Kiss me, Reese.”

  That was all he needed to hear. He stepped closer to her. His hands remained on the rail. Reese bent her slightly back, and forced her mouth open beneath his. She sighed as his tongue coerced hers into a mating dance that should have been forbidden to her. She met his every move with one of her own. She used her teeth to playfully tug on his lower lip then used her tongue to soothe it. Circe was so lost in the moment that she did not hear the man clearing his throat, but Reese did. He broke off the kiss and she whimpered at the loss of contact.

  “Miss Hayhurst, I would appreciate it if you would return to your cabin.”

  Circe blinked and attempted to bring Reese into focus. “But—”

  “Do as Captain Adams says,” Reese ordered before bending his head and raking his lips across hers in one last tantalizing kiss. He released the rail with his left hand, leaving an opening for her to release his neck and slip away.

  Circe stumbled across the deck, in a kind of lust-induced haze. Somehow, she managed to climb down the stairs and enter her cabin. She locked the door, crossed the room, and collapsed on the bed. Her body felt flushed and tingled from being pressed against his. She pressed the shaky fingers of her right hand against her lips and could tell they were swollen from his kiss.

  “Damn you, Reese Taggart for being on this ship, and damn me for begging for your kiss tonight,” she muttered, then rolled over to face the ship’s hull. She clenched her eyes tightly shut and prayed that sleep would overtake her.

  * * *

  “Stay away from Miss Hayhurst,” Captain Adams warned Reese.

  “I plan on it.”

  “Then what was that that I walked up on?”

  “Her doing, not mine.”

  “You seemed a willing participant.”

  “I was, but she wants more than I’m willing to give, Captain.”<
br />
  “And that would be?”

  “Marriage. A family. A home.”

  “I see. And you don’t want that, Lord Taggart?”

  “No. Women can’t be trusted. All they’re after is what they want. Once they get one thing, it just leads to more things. When they finally get everything they can out of you, they are ready to cast you aside. Well, I’ll not have it. Not anymore. I was a fool once, but never again. No, I’m done with women.”

  “Miss Hayhurst doesn’t seem like one that would use you and walk away.”

  “None of them do in the beginning, Captain Adams. When will we be docking at Barbados?”

  “Should be there tomorrow afternoon. One of the islands near to it has already been spotted.”

  “Good.” Reese pushed away from the rail. “I’m going to bed.”

  “Sleep well.”

  Reese grunted in response, crossed the deck, and went below to his cabin. Before he entered it, he eyed Circe’s and felt his body coming to life once more just thinking of the woman who lay beyond the closed door. It would be so easy to get her to let him in and have his way with her, but he wouldn’t. He walked stiffly inside his room and slammed his door. He undid the placket of his breeches, reached for a handkerchief, and wrapped his hand around his stiff member. In two strokes he was climaxing to an image of her beneath him on a large, soft bed. He groaned loudly and collapsed against the door.

  “Reese, are you all right? Are you sick? Answer me!” Just the sound of Circe’s muffled voice so close had his softening shaft struggling to attention again.

  “Bloody hell.”

  “Reese? Let me in, right now. You don’t sound well at all. Have you had a relapse? How is your head?”

  He groaned at her last question before muttering, “Go to your room, Circe.”

  “But—”

  “Now!”

  “Are you certain you are all right?”

  “Yes!” he practically barked.

  “I was only worried about you,” she said, sounding quite miffed. He could almost see her standing there, staring at the door, her fists planted on her wide, curvaceous hips. Her night rail pulled taught against her high, firm breasts, the nipples luring him like beacons in a storm. He stifled a groan as his member came to life, hardening in his grip, once more. Beads of perspiration popped out on his body.

  “Return to your room, please, Circe,” he sounded hoarse, even to himself. “And lock your bloody door.”

  “Are you certain you are well?”

  “Yes.”

  “Goodnight then.”

  “Goodnight.”

  He heard her door shut and the lock slide into place. This time when he climaxed into the handkerchief, he bit his lip until it bled to keep from calling her name.

  Chapter 6

  “Have you ever seen anything like this before?” Circe asked breathlessly as she stood at the ship’s rail the next day. She was embarrassed about last night’s events and having been caught by Captain Adams. It was a good thing they would be leaving the ship today. She had found the strength to push Reese away twice, but this last time had been close. If not for Captain Adams—

  “No, you’re absolutely stunning,” Reese said with a roguish smirk.

  “Not me, you simpleton,” she hissed. “That.” She made a motion with her arm that encompassed the view in front of them. They were currently working their way around the island of Barbados until they reached the town of Bridgetown, which is where Captain Adams informed them they would be docking. They had seen several other islands in the far off distance this last week, but now they were getting a close up view of their new home. “The sand practically sparkles, and look at the color of the water,” she ordered.

  “I see it.”

  “Are you not the least bit impressed?” she demanded and turned her head to stare at him questioningly.

  “Oh, I’m impressed,” he smiled and winked at her.

  “Stop that!” She turned back towards the ocean and took it all in. “I have never seen water that color before. Blue and green and every shade in between. And it is so clear. I almost feel like I could reach to the very bottom and sift through the sand that lies beneath it.” They stood quietly gazing out over the ocean. “Look at that tree.” She pointed to a palm that swayed crookedly from the beach out over the water, hovering above it. “It looks like it is floating above the water.”

  “So it does.”

  “I wonder what it would be like to sit on it and dangle my feet in the water. Do you think the waves would splash up that high?”

  “Perhaps we should try it sometime and find out.”

  “Perhaps we should,” she replied and unable to hold back a smile. She turned towards the water again, but then her head snapped back around to study him. “What happened to your lip? Captain Adams did not hit you, did he? If he did, I will have a word with him. I am the one that instigated that kiss.”

  Her hand was reaching up to touch the scabbed over spot. He intercepted her hand by grabbing her wrist. “No.”

  “No what?”

  “Captain Adams did nothing and you will not have a word with him.”

  “Then what? Did I do that?” she murmured, remembering their highly involved kiss last night and the way she had nipped his lower lip.

  “No, your conscience can rest easy.”

  “Then how?”

  “Forget it.” He released her hand.

  “Fine,” she sniffed and turned back around to view the island and waters before her. She rubbed her wrist as if that could remove the feeling his touch left behind.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said.

  “You did no such thing.”

  “I’ll miss our talks.”

  “As will I.”

  “You know I want no part of marriage.”

  “I never asked that of you, nor would I. I have told you what I want out of life and you are not that.”

  “I could show you how to lure a man to be your husband. You know what men like their women to be in the company of others, but I could show you what they like behind closed doors,” he said low and seductively.

  “Lord Taggart, I hold to what I told you last night, today is the last day we can speak to one another. My husband, and only my husband, will teach me what he likes in the privacy of our bedchamber.”

  “He’s a luck bastard, whoever he is.”

  “That goes without saying,” she smirked. “Now, please do not bring this up again and ruin this beautiful day.” Circe was grateful for the wind that cooled her flushed skin at the images his words conjured in her mind. How dare he say those things to me? she fumed. How dare he leave images with me that other men are going to have to compete against? No wonder he’s known as Wild Lord Taggart! He only wants to—

  “Then let’s enjoy each other’s company these last few, precious hours, shall we?” Reese interrupted her silent ranting.

  “Yes,” she snapped.

  “Miss Hayhurst, I apologize for my forwardness. I am fully aware of the goal that you have set forth for your yourself, and I should not have said what I did.”

  “You are correct.”

  “Forgive me?”

  “Do not approach me once we are on Barbados.”

  “Never.”

  “You are forgiven.”

  In companionable silence, they turned and watched as their new home grew closer.

  * * *

  “Allow me to escort you to the dock, Miss Hayhurst.” Captain Adams came up to her side and held out his arm to her. He looked at her expectantly, refusing to take no for an answer.

  “Thank you,” she said, as she slipped her arm through his.

  “You’ll be missed, Miss Hayhurst.”

  “You do not have to go that far, Captain Adams.”

  “But it’s the truth. The men have become fond of you.”

  “Tolerant, you mean,” she corrected.

  “Perhaps.” Captain Adams chuckled as he guided her fr
om the ship to the dock. “How are you getting to your uncle’s plantation?”

  “I suppose I will rent a hack.”

  “I’m not certain it will be as easy as it is in London. I will secure a conveyance for you.”

  “Thank you.” They walked carefully down the dock when all she really wanted to do was stop, look around, and take in the sights. It was amazing how this could be the same yet so different from London. Men bustled about the dock, unloading and loading crates. The men ranged from pale skinned to dark, much like the London dockworkers. Some were fully clothed while others were nude from the waist up, very unlike London. She meant to look away but was fascinated by the view.

  Captain Adams cleared his throat and tugged her arm until she followed him. “Wait here,” he instructed when they reached a warehouse. He left her standing in the shade of the building, and she found herself leaning against it as her legs became accustomed to being on terra firma once more. Her legs felt limp, but that did not keep her from surveying the landscape in front of her.

  The ships at the docks bobbed in the sparkling turquoise sea. The sun was almost blinding as it sparkled off the water. She took a deep breath and found the smell was different from London’s docks. It smelled fresher here. It most definitely was not dark and gloomy like London could be. She listened to the dockworkers calling to each other and realized that their accents were just as colorful as everything else on this island thus far.

  “It’s very different from London, isn’t it?”

  “Lord Taggart, I thought we agreed that once we were off the boat you would no longer speak to me.”

  “I believe you asked me not to speak to you in society, and we aren’t quite there yet. Admit that it’s different.”

  “Yes, it is most definitely different and beautiful.”

  “Ah, but remember that beauty can hold danger.”

  “Why?”